Occlusion is:

Ben Harmsen - Guitar

Anthony DeMartinis - Drums

Marty Gray - Vocals

Nelson Gast - Bass

Detroit-area heavyweights team up to create new anthems in a self-produced debut of progressive rock with radio-friendly sensibilities, a combination that friends of Occlusion call “Pop-prog.”

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Ben Harmsen, guitarist of Detroit’s heavy metal horror show Halloween, joined forces with fellow graduate and bassist Nelson Gast to form a cover band.

The two started writing originals on the side as a casual endeavor, but the creative chemistry coerced the two to increase their ambitions. Fellow U of M graduate Marty Gray joined the ensemble to contribute his vocal abilities to both the original and cover songs.

As a cover band they captivated audiences, leading to crowded rooms with people dancing on tables and the floors littered with broken glassware.

After recruiting their friend and drummer Anthony DeMartinis (of Ann Arbor’s Lake Mosiac) and finishing the recording process for the new material, the four turned their efforts into releasing the finished album with the title “Depth Toll.”

With a collective decades of musical experience, the quartet hopes to fuse the sound of their joint love of prog bands such as Tool, Leprous, and Karnivool, with yester-year’s seminal rock acts such as Soundgarden and Pantera, to pioneer a new blend of Progressive rock.

They released their first full-length album “Depth Toll” in January 2024.